


Only you

by ChocoNut



Series: Many ways to say I love you [12]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post Season 7, Post canon, Season 8, fluff and confession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 18:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18016550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: In the midst of the battle, Brienne goes in search of her one-handed knight, wanting to tell him that she loves him. But Jaime ends up revealing something about himself... something from his past





	Only you

**Author's Note:**

> Pointless fluff, really. Inspired by the new trailer, I just had to take a shot at this.  
> Un-edited and written on an impulse.  
> Note : Edited to correct a few typos.

_Where the hell is he?_

The enemy had long been defeated, but Winterfell was still burning, and amidst what was left of the castle was Brienne, frantically searching every corner of the place for Jaime, asking everyone she met if they had seen him. Her anxiety mounting with every passing moment, her mind was now clouded with unpleasant thoughts. She had not seen him since they were separated while fighting Cersei’s soldiers on the ramparts. They did prevail, eventually, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Did he perish in the attack?_

All these days, the fight for survival had neither left her with the strength nor the time to think about anything else. But during the last few hours, she was hit by a restlessness of a different kind.

_I have to find him... I have to tell him._

Continuing her search for him, she wandered off the castle grounds, and as she strayed into the nearby woods, her eyes fell upon a frozen lake a little distance away. Something told her that she would find Jaime there and she made her way towards her destination, her heart now jumping up and settling down somewhere at her throat.

There he was, standing at the edge of the lake, gazing into the ice.

“Brienne!” Before she could even open her mouth, he turned to face her. “What brings you here, wench?” he asked as she approached.

“I--” she hesitated at first, her tongue turning into stone as soon as she saw him. “I came to talk to you,” she finally said, trying to ignore her sweaty palms.

“What, about?” Arms folded across his chest, he stood there watching her intently, looking effortlessly handsome even in his battle-worn, bloodstained clothes.

Her nervousness taking over, she didn’t directly answer his question. “You’ve been missing since last night,” she said harshly, nearly accusing him. “What have you been doing here?”

_Do you have any idea how much I’ve been suffering every minute, imagining the worst about you?_

“Last night has left me thinking, wench.” He sighed deeply. “About my future. There’s something I need to do before it’s too late.”

Instinct told her to grab his face and kiss him senseless, to tell him that she loved him, but unfortunately, that was something for which she had to get past her nerves. Battle courage she had, but to do a thing like this required courage of a different sort, one which she sorely lacked. “And what might that be?” she pressed further, wanting to find out what was on his mind first.

He scratched his beard, looking at her thoughtfully. “I’ve been thinking about what my father had always wished for me.”

“And…?” she prompted, having some idea of what was to come.

“I’m going to fulfill his wish this very moment… before it’s too late,” he revealed.

“What do you plan to do?” She waited with bated breath.

“He had always wanted me to marry a suitable woman and father children named Lannister.”

“A suitable woman?” she repeated, wondering what he meant by _suitable_.

“Someone who, according to my father, would be good enough for me,” explained Jaime with a smile on his lips.

Hearing his decision, Brienne dropped her gaze. Her hopes were shattered to a million pieces, for Tywin Lannister would never have approved of a woman like her for his firstborn son and heir. From what she knew about the Lannister family, Tywin had never cared about Tyrion, but Jaime was beyond precious and he wished for the best for him. Immediately she felt foolish for having come here.

_I’ve been an idiot to have thought Jaime would love me when the world is full of beautiful women, far more suitable for him than a homely wench like me._

“What about you, my lady?” he tossed the question at her. “What do you plan to do once the war ceases to keep you occupied?”

_He is not to know that I’m heartbroken…_

She quickly gathered her composure. “I’ve been thinking of requesting for a place in the Kingsguard.” With Jaime off to build a life of his own, there was no better option for her than to pledge herself to her king, to dedicate herself to service.

Jaime’s eyes widened in displeasure. “You wish to be a glorified bodyguard?” he asked in disbelief. “Trust me, I’ve been there, Brienne, and you deserve a life of your own.”

“What else would I do?” she blurted out without thinking. “I had always known that this was how my life would turn out to be.”

He looked angry. “Why are you here then? Have you sought me out with such effort to tell me this?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “And I suppose, disturbing your thoughts was a mistake. My apologies, Ser Jaime.”  Wanting to avoid any more of this heartbreaking conversation, she turned away and was about to flee from there when he grabbed her arm.

“Wait,” he said brusquely. “You can’t leave just like that. You haven’t answered my question.” He pulled her closer. “Do you really _want_ to be a part of the Kingsguard?” he asked again, green eyes boring holes into hers.

Sadness now gave way to anger. Who was he to taunt her or question her decisions? “Yes,” she said, her tone more confident than before. “Unlike you, there’s no one waiting for me back home to marry me--”

“Back home?” He blinked, throwing her a questioning look.

“That’s what you meant, didn’t you?” she shouted without meaning to, flaring up at his stupid show of ignorance. “Follow your father’s chosen path for you, go back to Casterly Rock and find a suitable woman, presumably someone _he_ would approve of, someone beautiful and worthy of you--”

She wriggled in his grasp, but Jaime didn’t let go of her. “Let me tell you something about myself, Brienne,” he interrupted her again.

“I’m not interested--” she began, keen on getting away from him.

“You have to hear me out,” he insisted, tightening his grip on her arm. “Long back, when Tyrion was imprisoned for Joffrey’s murder, I had approached my father to make a deal with him.”

“What deal?” Brienne wondered where this was going, wishing he would release her and put an end to her agony.

“I begged him to let Tyrion go. In return, I agreed to leave King’s Landing, give up the Kingsguard and… Cersei.” He took a deep breath and released his grip on her, sliding his hand down her arm, his fingers kissing her bare skin through her tattered sleeve. “I had promised him that I would leave for Casterly Rock, marry a suitable woman and father children named Lannister,” he said, repeating his father's ambition for him.

“Why are you telling me all this now?” she asked in an even tone, refusing to be affected by his touch.

Jaime licked his lips, taking her hand in his, his thumb caressing the back of her palm as he spoke. “When I gave him my word, the only woman to have occupied my thoughts was you, Brienne,” he admitted with a smile.

Brienne gaped at him in shock, unable to believe her ears, yet wanting to take his word and let her heart rejoice.

“Had Tyrion paid any heed to my advice, I might perhaps have sought you out and asked you to marry me... despite knowing that you might have turned me down,” he confessed. “Not that I would have blamed you for it,” he added hastily. “Your priorities and responsibilities were different then.”

When Brienne continued to stare at him, he went on. “But what would you do now, my lady?”

“I don’t understand, are you asking--” She didn’t want to complete her sentence for fear of being mistaken.

He gazed deeply into her eyes. “What if I were to make you the same proposal today? Last night, I realized that I can't live without you, Brienne. Before it’s too late, I want to make you my wife, to give myself to you in every way a man can--” he moved closer “--to the woman he loves,” he finished.

“You love me?” she repeated, wondering how the gods could have been this kind to her.

He nodded affectionately. “Desperately, my dear wench, and I'm beyond any kind of redemption now. So, I ask you this with utmost sincerity... would you still want to join the Kingsguard? Or--” he gave her hand a little squeeze “--would you do me the honour of accepting my hand?”

 _Yes,_ she wanted to say, but words wouldn't come.

“Come on, after such a long winding confession, don’t just be quiet,” he urged impatiently. “Kiss me, or curse me, or call me a liar. Say something.”

She tore her eyes away from his gaze. “I’d neither curse you nor call you a liar, ser--” she spoke to the ground, her cheeks burning “--for I know you would never lie to me.”

She could hear the smile in his voice when he replied. “Does that mean--”

“I love you, Ser Jaime, I always have, right from the day you jumped into that pit for me,” she admitted. “Like a complete idiot,” she added, smiling fondly at the memory. “But--” her smile faltered. There was one thing that still troubled her. “You said you’d wed a woman your father would approve of.” She looked up at him doubtfully. “What would he have thought of me?”

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, gently stroking the nape of her neck as he played with her hair. “You’re simple, honourable, straightforward--” he took his time with every word, peppering her face with tiny kisses as he spoke “You’re a highborn lady, worthy by name and virtue. You won’t just be my wife, Brienne, you’d be my equal as we walk side by side, fulfilling our responsibilities as heirs to our houses,” he whispered in her ear. “Father would be proud of me if he were alive today.”

“But--” _I’m no lady,_ she was about to say when he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a kiss, a real proper kiss. His lips burning into hers, she could feel the heat, the passion and everything else he had felt for her all these years, and she gave herself to him, flinging her arms around his neck and holding him tight, vowing never to let go of him again.

“There are no women like you, Lady Brienne,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers when they pulled apart. “Only you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and do let me know in your comments if you liked it!


End file.
